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I consider myself a bit of a foodie. Or as the French would call it, a Gourmet. Or is the female version a Gourmette? Eine Feinschmeckerin in German. Basically, I like food. To be more specific, I like good food, a lot. Not as in I eat a lot, but I love it a lot. I also love cooking and living the greenest life possible. Because I also enjoy writing and sharing recipes, and because so many people would ask me for the recipe of whatever I was feeding them, I figured writing a blog for fellow Green Gourmets could be beneficial, sort of in a utilitarian way. It is entirely possible that my guests are just being polite but hey, I take things literally. I mean them literally too. I hear that’s typical for Europeans like myself while Canadians are often just being polite, really. Gotta love Canadians. Anyway, I will be sharing my favourite recipes here, from traditional Swiss food to food around the world, from 3 ingredient meals to elaborate chef-like 4 course meals (probably only if I find myself unemployed) and everything in between. The recipes I post are either something I’ve made for years and love or something new I just tried and thought was worth sharing. Some recipes will be from other sources and followed strictly (definitely only on rare occasions), some adapted to my liking, and some just simply my own creation (I will warn you whenever that’s the case).

My motivation for cooking, apart from actually enjoying it and the relative immediate reward of eating it, is that home cooked meals often taste better, are cheaper and better for you. Besides, I like to know where my food comes from and sometimes get odd looks when I ask the waiter where the tuna lived before it became my pizza topping (so good by the way). Home cooked meals have a lower calorie count, are more nutritious and healthier because they don’t contain preservatives, additives or other crap that will eventually kill you and have a lower environmental footprint, especially if they are vegetarian, organic and local. Please don’t make me tell you why or argue with me on this point, this isn’t’ a political blog where I try to convince you of my version of what’s right, I really just want you to have a yummy meal that you can feel good about for multiple reasons.

Not all my recipes are vegetarian but many are or can be made without meat. I used to be a vegetarian but found it too much of a sacrifice. First, because I like meat; second, because I was tired of being though of as a picky eater; and third, because I was constantly anemic and iron supplements make for some really disgusting burps. Sorry for the over-share. I admire the self discipline of vegetarians but it wasn’t for me. Instead, I’d call myself a “Flexitarian with high morals”: I eat relatively little meat and only “humane” meat or what my mother would refer to as “happy meat” when I was a child (already with a heightened sense of right and wrong). Meaning, the eggs I use are organic and laid by hens that weren’t confined in an inhumanly small cage but actually got to see the world. Well, sort of. The meat I buy is from animals that actually had a life before they became meat. You get the idea. I buy organic and local wherever possible, boycott GMO, meats with antibiotics and foods with ingredients I can’t pronounce. Which means pretty much no fast food or microwave meals. Luckily, I don’t really like either of those, due to my spoiled taste buds (thanks to my parents and grandma’s great cooking, with high morals too). Not to say you have to do the same but in case you do, we should probably be friends. Oh and if you cannot afford to buy all organic (I hear ya), here some help for fruit and veggies.

About me (when I’m not cooking, eating, or blogging):

I am an online communications specialist working for small businesses and non profits in the Vancouver, BC, area. I develop and implement online communications strategies and use social media tools to engage people in good causes and share good ideas. www.normaromann.com